Marine de la République australienne
The Marine de la République australienne (MRA) is the maritime arm of the Forces armées de la République australienne. It was founded in 1908, but traces its origins to the French Marine nationale's Flottille navale australienne and the water forces of the French Gendarmerie nationale in the colonial-era. The Marine de la République australienne participated in both world wars, the Indochinese War, and the 1991 Gulf War. During the First World War, the Marine de la République australienne attained its first combat success by sinking the German cruiser Emden near Îles Cocos. Not having experienced the blood letting the Armée de terre d'Australie experienced in the trenches, the Marine de la République australienne entered the interwar period confident and proud of its war record. During the thirties, the Marine's confidence was rewarded with new equipment, such as Le Fantasque class "super-destroyers", La Galissonnière-class cruiser, and a squadron of Minerve-class submarines. In the Second World War, the Marine sent a task force to support the French Marine nationale. With the fall of France, this task force found itself tied up at Toulon, and at Oran. The Marine de la République australienne does not use prefixes internally, but foreign navies use the prefix "AS" meaning "Australian Ship". The Marine de la République australienne has 10 main branches and services: ;Force d'Action Navale :English: Naval Action Force ;Forces Sous-marines Australienne :English: Australian Submarine Forces ;Force maritime de l'aéronautique navale :English: Maritime Force of Naval Aeronautics ;Force amphibie :Amphibious Force ;Fusiliers Marins Australienne :English: Australian Naval Fusiliers ;Force de chasse aux mines de la marine de la république australienne :English: Minehunting force of the MRA ;Force de souveraineté maritime de la marine de la république australienne :English: Maritime Soveriegnty Force of the MRA ;Service hydrographique de la marine de la république australienne :English: Hydrographic Service of the MRA ;Marins Pompiers :English: Marine Firefighters ;Gendarmerie Maritime d’Australie :English: Maritime Gendarmerie of Australia ;Service de soutien de la Flotte :English: Fleet Support Service =Branches and Services= Force d'Action Navale The Force d'Action Navale (Naval Action Force) is Australia's surface fleet. It operates Australia's aircraft carriers, surface combatants, and naval auxiliaries. The FAN is intended to provide one carrier battle group, one surface action group, and a number of independent frigates to support the Force de souveraineté maritime - particularly in the Southern Ocean. The aircraft carriers are over fifty years old, and are at the end of their useful lives. The acquisition of the French carrier Clemenceau as a spares hulk, as well as extensive support from the United States has kept them going, but replacements are needed. The alternatives are either a carrier variant of the Mistral-class BPC, the DCNS PA2 http://rafalenews.blogspot.com/2010/10/pa2-is-back.html, or sister ships of the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle. The latter is thought to be unlikely due to the high cost and poor reliability of the Charles de Gaulle in the Marine nationale. Ships ;2 Clemenceau class aircraft carriers :Général de corps d'armée Antoine Philippon (R21) :Vice-Amiral d'escadre Guillaume Charbonnier (R22) ;1 Horizon class Guided Missile Destroyer (2 building, 1 planned) :AS ;2 Cassard class Guided Missile Destroyers :AS :AS ;4 Georges Leygues class Destroyers :AS :AS :AS :AS ;1 Tourville class Destroyer :AS ;4 La Fayette class Frigates :AS :AS :AS :AS ;3 Floréal class Frigates :AS :AS :AS Forces Sous-marines Australienne Force maritime de l'aéronautique navale The Force maritime de l'aéronautique navale, normally known as l'Aéronavale, or l'Aéronavale Australienne, contains most of the Marine's aviation assets. It is the only part of the Marine de la république australienne known to be nuclear capable, using the ASMP missile on its Super Étendard aircraft. The "cutting edge" of l'Aéronavale Australienne is the Groupe aérien embarqué (Embarked Air Group), which is equipped with the F/A-18C/D for air defence, the Super Étendard for strike, the E-1T Turbo Tracer for airborne early warning, and the S-2T Turbo Tracker for anti-submarine warfare. The fast jets of GAE are aging, and replacements are required. The decision will be determined by the choice of new aircraft carriers. If a CATOBAR design is chosen, the alternatives will be the Rafale M (which provides commonality with the Armée de l'Air d'Australie), the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, or the F-35C Lightning II (both of which are cheaper than the Rafale). If the Mistral class is chosen, then only the F-35B Lightning II will be suitable. The other combat aircraft of l'Aéronavale Australienne are the Dassault Atlantique 2 patrol aircraft and Dassault Falcon 50 Guardian surveillance aircraft of the Aviation de patrouille maritime. The intended replacement for the Atlantique 2 is the Airbus A319MPA, which will provide commonality with the A320 VIP aircraft of the Armée de l'Air d'Australie. The home of l'Aéronavale Australienne is Base d'aéronautique navale (BAN) Nowa Nowa in Terre d'Bonaparte, which houses most of the operational and training aircraft of l'Aéronavale Australienne. The Aviation de patrouille maritime is housed at BAN Kaurna in Australie-Méridionale. Units The basic unit of l'Aéronavale Australienne is the Squadron, known as a Flotille if it is operational, or a Escadrille de Servitude if it is in the support or training role. ;Groupe aérien embarqué (Embarked Air Group) :Flotille 11F - Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornet :Flotille 12F - Grumman S-2T Turbo Tracker :Flotille 13F - Dassault Super Étendard :Flotille 14F - Dassault Super Étendard :Flotille 15F - Grumman E-1T Turbo Tracer :Flotille 16F - Grumman C-1T Turbo Trader :Flotille 17F - Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornet :Flotille 18F - Grumman S-2T Turbo Tracker ;Aviation de patrouille maritime (Maritime Patrol Aviation) :Flotille 29F - Dassault Atlantique 2 :Flotille 20F - Dassault Atlantique 2 :Flotille 21F - Dassault Falcon 50 Guardian :Flotille 22F - Dassault Falcon 50 Guardian ;Hélicoptères embarqués et basés à terre :Flotille 30F - :Flotille 31F - :Flotille 32F - ;Aviation de soutien :Escadrille 80S Fusiliers Marins Australienne The Fusiliers Marins Australienne includes all ground combat forces of the Australian Navy, including base protection, amphibious operations, and maritime special forces Marins Pompiers The Marins Pompiers provide fire protection at naval bases and civilian ports. This is considered a military task due to the extreme hazard of fires on ships, and at the waterfront. Gendarmerie Maritime d’Australie Category:République Australienne